September 2014 Empties

Another day, another bundle of trash to share with you all. My empties really need no introduction.

*Shamanuti Face Oil - review here - I've had this facial oil since January, probably even before that actually, and have loved it as an eye serum. It never gave me milia, wasn't strongly fragranced, and worked to moisturize the delicate eye area. Since I have so many other oils, I will not be repurchasing this one right now.

*Gemstone Organic Calendula Hydrosol - review here - I'm a huge fan of calendula and hydrosols, so you already know I like this one. There was only enough in the bottle to use a handful of times. May purchase a full size.

*evie Amazingly Soothing Makeup Remover - review here - Loved how well this cleanser removed makeup and how well it rinsed off. The smell was very faint but towards the end, it started to smell different...stale, if you will. Not sure I'd repurchase based on that alone.

Pretty Rose Petal & Oatmeal Cleansing Grains - review here - These were my favourite cleansing grains of the two that I've tried and I've had this since January! It worked well as a second and morning cleanse to gentle exfoliate and promote circulation. Will be repurchasing at some point.

*New Leaf Naturals Chamomile Lemongrass Foaming Hand Soap - review here - Lovely company, lovely soap, but too drying for my hands. Will not repurchase.

*Sigrid Simply Beautiful Unscented Body Butter - This body butter has three ingredients; water, beeswax, and olive oil. I questioned how long it could really last without a preservative, especially since there's water in it. I didn't enjoy the olive oil scent and had to add in some peppermint and lavender EO to make it tolerable. Loved it on my feet in the summer time but would not repurchase.

*Organic Bath Co. Zesty Morning Scrub - review here - I stand behind my review of this scrub, sooooo good! It smells like fresh oranges, works well to exfoliate without being too abrasive and I love that the company gives back. I'm hoping they'll be available in Canada soon so that I can repurchase!

*Huckleberry Limoncello Peel/Mask - review here - Incredible! There's not much else to say. Would purchase more if they were available in Canada or would just pick up a large size of the peel if that was available at all.

Living Libations Wild Child Healthy Gum Drops - review here - Love these drops! They're mild and I swear they've been helping my sensitive gums. I've already repurchased and mix it with a salt water mixture to use as a mouth rinse.

Living Libations Frankincense Tooth Paste - Hated the taste and texture of this toothpaste. It also ended up irritating my mouth and leaving me with canker sores, which I haven't had since going natural with my toothpaste. Will not repurchase this particular one.

*Meow Meow Tweet Face+Body Toning Mist in Geranium Basil - There wasn't much in this baby tube to determine whether I liked the formula, but I certainly decided that I didn't like the scent.

Boscia Blotting Papers - I've had these for years and years. They worked well and, as you can see, were well loved. Not sure if these are even still available but I'd repurchase. MarieNatie Lip Gloss in Love Struck - review here -  I love the formula and scent of MarieNatie lip glosses. This one had more pigmentation than the other 2 that I've tried, however, it was still pretty sheer. Would 100% repurchase. *Sappho Liquid Foundation in Rachel - review here - Sappho makes THE best (liquid) foundation that I have ever tried. There are certainly some downfalls, like how it oxidizes, but I still love how natural it looks on my skin and how well it wears. Rachel is a great shade match when I'm tanned, however, I have purchased Leisha (a shade lighter) and am using that now. I've had this bottle for well over a year and have had Leisha since December. The bottle is small but a little goes a long way and is totally worth the $52 price tag! *Red Apple Lipstick The Lash Project Mascara (not pictured) - review here - I've tossed out my RAL mascara after using it for a month because it dried out. I mean, it was already dry but I literally couldn't get any on my lashes anymore. Would not repurchase.
What have you finished up this month?  *PR SAMPLE

Green Living Show Haul!

I did a post on my day at the show, now here's a look at what I picked up. I didn't get much because if I hadn't of shown some restraint, I would have bought something from every single booth.

Skin Care, Body Care & Makeup

Ta-da! Look at all that stuff. Overwhelmed yet? I picked up...

• Ground Soap bars; Backbone which smells like cinnamon goodness and Lemme Bee Your Honey which is pretty lemony. Backbone was given to me by the lovely Angela. I think it was because I kept smelling all of the soaps so many times that she wanted to get rid of me...how embarrassing.

• Bee 23 Hotty Body Balm in Mango Mornings which is fantastic! I've used this the last two days, after showering, and I have absolutely no dry patches. My elbows and knees are soft like a baby's bum!  

• MarieNatie lip gloss in Love Struck which is gorgeous and tastes like cinnamon and sugar..basically dessert. I've blogged about these before and I'm pretty sure they've been in a couple of monthly favourites, they're great.

Then I got two samples; the white container is the Cocoon Apothecary Petal Purity Exfoliating Facial Cleanser which I've only used once and enjoyed, and the bar is Jaydancin facial bar cleanser which I have yet to use. I don't even know which "flavour" it is and they haven't tweeted me back. TSK TSK Jaydancin!

Tea & Food

I nearly had a heart attack when I saw Pukka teas at one of the booths. This is hands down my favourite brand of tea because the blends are great, they taste awesome, they're fair trade and organic. I think I've mentioned before that my boyfriend enjoys plain green and white loose leaf tea. He judges me with his eyes whenever I pull out anything else but, since he was at my place and desperate, he tried their green tea and really liked it. Life story over, I picked up Harmonise and Green Tea (I think this is the same as Three Green).

Then, since there's food everywhere and I cannot not try it, my boyfriend and I fell in food love with Neal Brothers Organic Blue Corn Tortillas and Habanero Salsa. The Habanero salsa is actually hot. Mouth.On.Fire.Hot! I was like, "yah okay most food that's got hot written on it isn't actually hot". We tried it and there was a bit of a kick, so I picked up two. Once you eat a few, you REALLY start to feel it burn. If spicy is your thing, give this a try.

That concludes my Green Living Show haul. I'm really happy with what I picked up and will definitely do full reviews of the soap, body balm and lip gloss.

Anything in my haul tickle your fancy?

Green Living Show Toronto 2013 Pictures

As those who follow me on Twitter may know, I was at the Green Living Show in Toronto over the weekend. It was so much fun! There were so many booths to help you live a green life whether it be food, beauty, fashion, home or pet related. I didn't take too many pictures because I was literally overwhelmed, but I did take some of my favourite booths.

First stop, Giddy Yoyo. How can one resist chocolate at 10 am? I'm not normally a fan of dark chocolate, but this stuff was sooo delicious. They use natural, organic, fair trade ingredients and best of all, it's all raw! My boyfriend ended up picking up two bars (a banana and an orange flavoured), I think they were bars, which I happily helped him eat.

Bee 23 was next and aside from the beautiful owner, Michelle, the packaging totally suckered me in! It's so friggen cute. Michelle's passion for her products blew me away. It didn't sound like a sales pitch at all, it just sounded like she wanted to tell me about her company and how proud she if of it and the products within it. That, in itself, made me want to buy something (and I did).

Michelle

MarieNatie was a small booth, which I almost walked right by, if it wasn't for the beautiful makeup set up. It was really wonderful to meet Marie in person and chat a little. I picked up a gloss, although I wish I had picked up another one, but I had to quickly get out of there before I bought everything that she had on her! The products are so pigmented, great quality and beautiful.

These two beautiful ladies are from Sappho Cosmetics. Sappho is a natural cosmetic line with beautiful products and rave reviews on the liquid foundation. JoAnn Fowler is the creator of the line and a makeup artist herself. She's A-MAZING! Honestly, I had so much fun talking with her and hearing about how exciting her life is (regardless of whether she agrees on the exciting part). The booth was getting pretty busy but I managed to chit chat with the awesome girls there and JoAnne herself. She actually did my makeup. Jealous? You should be!

The lovely JoAnn (left) & (right) Kayla (who is bomb.com as well)

Botany Co. Eyewear is a really cool company that's straight out of Ontario (that's in Canada eh, for all you non Canadians). They make sunglasses out of bamboo wood. What!? You can't get any greener than that! Courtney is the founder and she is also, as you can see from her smile below, super enthusiastic about her product. She has some bad ass shades and she knows it. I'm definitely contemplating picking up a pair!

Courtney

Cocoon Apothecary is one I've reviewed on my blog before. It was nice to chat with Lane and find out more about the products, including how to properly apply the mud mask. Apply it to a wet face ladies and gents! They were giving out samples, I should have picked up more but, I only picked one up.

Lane sent me a better picture of the booth but for some reason it keeps showing up upside down, this one will have to do.

Last, but not least, Ground Soap. I love soap and was totally excited to check out this booth. The bars are massive and smell fantastic, I picked up two. Angela, the creator and owner, is really outgoing and (here's that word again) passionate. My boyfriend and I had fun chatting with her, hearing how she got her start, and smelling all of the bars over..and over..and over again. Her soaps can be used on the body, face and hair which is great for when you're travelling.

I can't remember what kind of bird this was, hawk? eagle?, but my boyfriend thought it was cool. There were also snakes....*squirms*. I swear one of the snakes kept looking at me, I had to walk away and therefore couldn't take any pictures.

There were a few booths that I missed due to all the excitement and overwhelming feelings over seeing so many green brands and products, such as Green Beaver and Health Hut. You can find a full listing of the exhibitors here.

Hope you enjoyed seeing my day at the Green Living Show. Haul to come! xo

Face of the Day/Eye Shadow of the Day featuring MarieNatie

I recently posted a couple of pictures on Twitter showing a shadow of the day and the entire look of the day, I guess it should be face of the day since I only showed my face right? Just started playing more with makeup and I'm still working on finding good lighting in my house to take pictures. A million windows and I still struggle. Anyway, thought I'd put up a more in-depth post with better pictures for those of you who aren't on Twitter. A little disclaimer before you continue reading. I am not a makeup artist and until late last year, never really played much with makeup beyond the basics. My brows desperately need to get done and I fully realize that one is darker than the other, luckily, they're getting done today lol. You may now proceed...

Here are the products that I used, you can pretty much guess where I used each one :P/

L to R: 100% Pure Lip Glaze in Seduce, MarieNatie gloss in Nearly Wild, Zuzu Luxe mascara in Onyx, Alima Pure foundation in Warm 2, MarieNatie pigment in Emerald, MarieNatie pressed shadow in C'est bon, All Natural Face cream blush in Cotton Candy & Physicians Formula Organic Wear liner in Black Woods

MarieNatie was kind enough to send me these shadows to try out. This is the very first time that I'm wearing them and must say that I'm impressed. I will do a full review of them at some point. I used C'est bon all over the lid and in the crease, then used Emerald as a liner on the top and bottom lash line. I don't often wear liner but I added Physicians Formula dark brown liner to the bottom lash line, which seems to have come off in the pictures already, then coated my lashes with some mascara. The whole look, especially Emerald, really makes my eyes pop!

sassy! Fun makeup = fun/stupid faces? 

TA-DA, the complete look!

Hope you guys enjoyed, let me know if you'd like me to do more of these posts. Maybe the more I do the better I'll get!

xo!

*MarieNatie sent me the gloss & shadows. I am in no way being compensated for using or reviewing  them. All opinions are my own. 

December 2012 Empties!

Wowza, 2012 is coming to a very quick end and so is my product stash! I'm so excited to be finishing up old products so that I can start making my own! 2013 is going to be so fun. 

Here's what I finished this month, a little bare when compared to the last couple of months but still a good list I'd say. Most are samples or smaller items.

Skin Care

Sukin Hydrating Mist Toner (sample size) - review here - I go through these little bottles way too fast.  I really enjoyed using this toner as a setting spray for my mineral makeup because it's cheap and leaves my makeup looking so natural. I may purchase the full size if I come across it at any of my local health food stores but otherwise, I'm going to play with other toners.

Evanhealy Lavender Facial Tonic Hydrosol (sample size) - review to come - This was a lovely facial toner, despite the smell.  It was calming, soothing and hydrating but no better than any other lavender hydrosol I've tried.  I won't be purchasing the full size.

Evanhealy Rosehip Treatment Facial Serum BLUE (sample size) - review to come - Irritated my face but was great mixed in with my hand cream to soften and soothe dry, chapped knuckles and cuticles.  I won't be purchasing the full size.

Pai Rosehip BioRegenerate Fruit & Seed Oil Blend -review here - I loved and raved about this product at first but it began breaking me out and causing red bumps on my face.  I honestly think that my face just doesn't like rosehip oil because I started using it on my body and had no negative reactions whatsoever.  I am sad that I will not be repurchasing, however, I still highly recommend trying it.  On a brighter note, I have discovered new oils that my skin has been enjoying :).

Pretty Ginger & Cypress Soothing Mask - review here - Fantastic mask! I still love this so, so much and am sad that I used it all up.  It has been one of the most consistent products in my skin care routine.  I'm going to attempt to make my own clay masks for now but will likely repurchase it at some point.

Eminence Naseberry Treatment (sample size) - review here - In my mission to figure out which products don't work well for my skin, I decided to use one moisturizer at a time until I finish an entire sample/jar.  I quickly discovered that this was one of the products that doesn't work well for me, sadly.  It smells great and really hydrates my skin but it also causes red bumps.  Since I started using the Eminence Apricot Moisturizer (another sample in the Normal kit), I haven't had any irritations! I finished up the Naseberry Treatment by using it as a foot cream.  Safe to say that I will not be purchasing the full size.


Hygiene/Misc. Products

Sukin Purifying Shampoo -review here - My feelings for this product have been up and down.  I hated it, then liked it, then loved it and now don't like it again lol.  Can I make up my mind? Yes! I don't like it.  It's drying and irritating to my scalp. I stand by my initial statement of it being more of a once a week shampoo to give my hair and scalp a deep clean.  I will not be purchasing the full size.

Kiss my Face Toothpaste - review here - This is my all time favourite toothpaste.  It tastes good, lathers well, great texture and leaves my teeth whiter and brighter! As much as I love it, it's way too expensive to be purchasing every single month.  I have been trying something new and it seems rather promising! Hopefully I won't have to repurchase this again, although it holds a very special place in my heart!

Mary Ginseng House Pain Relieving Cream (sample size) - review here - I never actually gave a proper review of this product because I never used it consistently enough to see if it made a difference.  Since starting my seasonal retail job, my knees and ankles have needed a little extra loving.  My body wasn't used to standing for 8+ hours and since I have been pretty inactive, that made it worse.  This cream has been amazing! I used it at almost every night before bed and noticed a difference with continued use. It really helped soothe and calm any inflammation that I was feeling.  I'm not sure if I will purchase the full size, since it's a little hard to find at my health food store, but it's always a possibility.


Makeup

Priori Coffeeberry Mineral Foundation - review here - I finally finished this damn foundation.  I don't like it but found it worked better when mixed with my Alima Pure Foundation.  It doesn't wear very long and emphasizes any dryness that I have on my face. I will not be repurchasing again.

Alima Pure Lip Balm in Mango - review here - I am really happy to be done with this lip balm.  I enjoy Alima balms but not this colour.  I did enjoy the colour for a bit there but dislike it again lol.  What a month of confusing empties huh?  It made my lips look like a sparkly penny than a nice tint, ugh yuck! I won't be repurchasing this shade again.

MarieNatie Lip Gloss - review here - This was my go-to gloss while on the sales floor.  It was so hydrating and glossy that my lips always looked (and felt) so soft and healthy.  It tasted amazing and looked fantastic over any lip colour, as well as just my bare lips. I have another one to use it but will likely pick up MarieNatie gloss in the future!

That wasn't so bad, was it? What have you finished up this month?